No plan to elongate Buhari’s tenure beyond 2023- Lawan

The Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan has debunked reports in some media which alleged that he was planning for a constitutional amendment to elongate President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure beyond 2023.

Mr Lawan, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Ola Awoniyi, in Abuja, said he firmly stands by the constitutional provision for a term limit for elected public officers and would not support any move to amend the section.

The statement reads: “The Office of the President of the Senate has noted a tweet by one Cmr Mayor attributing a fabricated statement to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan.

“In the mischievous tweet, the Senate President was quoted as saying he “won’t mind a constitutional amendment to allow the unlimited term of office for President if President Buhari wishes to remain in office beyond 2023.”

“Our initial reaction was to ignore the ignoble mischief especially since it is not new, having been posted two years ago on 27 March 2019.

“But because the tweet has been trending again on social media, it becomes necessary to issue a formal rebuttal of its purport.

“We, therefore, say categorically that the Senate President has never made any such statement, before or after 2019.

“The old tweet which was entirely the handiwork of mischief makers is now being circulated again on social media by purveyors of fake news.

“The 1999 Constitution has a firm position on the tenure of the President that reflects the popular stand of Nigerians”